Welcome to my world!

Backyard Birding in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas: Surrounded by great birding destinations, our favorite patch is still the backyard (or the front), where we've seen more than 270 species of birds. Sit awhile, and watch the river and yard with us!

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Halloween Hauntings

In our neighborhood, Trick or Treaters seldom come knocking on doors or asking for candy. We live far from town, and the people in the houses that line the river are more oldsters than youngsters. On Halloween night I miss the little ones, dressed up as ghouls or princesses, traipsing down the street amid giggles and choruses of "Trick or Treat! Close inspection of the backyard, however, reveals a host of natural tricksters.

A couple of years ago, I posted some pictures to prove that Nature itself had done a pretty good job of celebrating Halloween. Here are a few spooky characters from around the yard, an encore of Nature's trick or treaters.

Can you tell what's making this scary face?

It's a pomegranate hanging from a bush in the yard! (I flipped the photo upside down so that you can appreciate the Halloween mask. )

Cactus blooms can also make faces worthy of Halloween! That blood-red mouth is downright gruesome!

A hoary Fungus Face hides on an old tree stump, waiting for the Halloween party to begin.

Talk about disguises: the Walking Sticks in the photo below came to the party dressed as, well...walking sticks!

What's a Halloween party without a few well-dressed spiders?

and night-black snakes,

and black birds with devilish eyes.

A Silver Argiope spins her web. That little guy above her is her mate, and possibly a Halloween treat.

A flash from the camera lights up this Wolf Spider's creepy eyes.

What's in the web-below--is it spider or prey?

No matter, the web is a masterpiece, a fine Halloween decoration!)

Click to enlarge the photo above: you'll see the hundreds of baby spiders creepy-crawling out of their pod, headed for the Trick or Treat party.

Other guests at the Halloween costume ball: a butterfly dressed in ghostly garb,

and an appropriately-named Funereal Duskywing, just perfect for Halloween haunting,

One little goblin (bee or butterfly?) dressed up in the Flower costume,above. (Look close! Can you see it?)

A Black Witch Moth (yes, that's really its name) flew with five-inch wingspan into our house and spent the night on the curtains.

Last, but never least, a night-time owl prowled the neighborhood on Halloween night:

Yard List 2012

Despite an overcast and blustery day on January 1, we were able to window-bird for 46 species on the new year's list. By the end of January, we had 100 birds, exactly the "goal" we set. (Last year's list of 214 Yard Birds can be found in the post for December 31, 2011.)